Paid music downloads slow, peer-to-peer sharing grows

NPD reports that while Apple's iTunes Music Store continues to lead the pack of online music download stores, growth
in the sector appears to be slowing, and perhaps even reversing. In April, 2004, paid downloads hit 1.3 million,
but then slowed to around 1 million in May and June. While analysts note that this coincides with promotions
offered by companies like Pepsi and iTunes, the fact that P2P music sharing sites and technology have continued to grow
will no doubt have the record industry up in arms yet again (we blame society). According to numbers released in the
report, P2P numbers grew to 6.4 million in July 2004 from 5.1 million in August 2003. Moral of the story? People
like free stuff.